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HEBER CITY — A Midway man living in the U.S. illegally was sentenced to prison Wednesday and may face deportation after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of cocaine at the time of a fatal crash near Deer Creek Reservoir in 2018.
Jose Lozoya-Tellez, 38, was sentenced to serve an undetermined amount of time at the Utah State Prison with a maximum of 5 years, according to court records. Records also show that Lozoya-Tellez is then to be turned over to the Immigration Customs Enforcement agency for deportation proceedings after his sentence is served.
He was also ordered to pay a little more than $7,000 in restitution in the case.
Lozoya-Tellez pleaded guilty to automobile homicide negligence on Nov. 14 in relation to a head-on crash on Jan. 15, 2018, that killed 23-year-old Heather Petersen, of Heber City. In the deal, Lozoya-Tellez admitted being under the influence of cocaine at the time of the crash on U.S. Highway 189.
Utah Highway Patrol officials said Lozoya-Tellez was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer north on the highway when his vehicle collided head-on with Petersen’s 2007 Toyota Camry near Charleston, Wasatch County. Petersen died at the scene and UHP said at the time Lozoya-Tellez was critically injured in the crash.
Prosecutors charged Lozoya-Tellez with automobile homicide negligence, a second-degree felony, on Feb. 26, 2018. As a part of the plea agreement in November, prosecutors lowered the charge to a third-degree felony.
Court records show Lozoya-Tellez had no previous major criminal history prior to the fatal crash.
